How To Register Ownership

2023 Author: Douglas Hoggarth | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 20:16

From the stories that happen to the buyers of apartments in Moscow new buildings, you can compose an instructive handbook. One of its most memorable chapters should be devoted to the problem of registration of ownership of purchased housing. This problem is largely due to the operation of the capital's bureaucratic mechanism. But there are many other factors that seriously prolong the time frame for obtaining title documents, the absence of which significantly limits the freedom of buyers.

Distance in years

What is the realistic time frame for obtaining property rights? What opportunities does the buyer have to dispose of the property in the period between the delivery of the object and the receipt of these documents? For example, is it possible to sell, donate, inherit, divide an apartment, or mortgage an apartment against a loan? Is it right to start repairs in an apartment? How much does the design itself cost? Here are the questions to be sorted out.

Viktor Kozlov, Commercial Director of Augur Estate, tells about the steps involved in the procedure for registering property rights: "Registration of property rights of buyers of apartments in newly built houses is preceded by state registration of city property rights to real estate and registration of investors' rights to real estate." Decisions and decrees regarding the reduction of the terms of registration of the city's property rights to residential premises have been made more than once. By a decree of the Moscow government in 2004, a single specialized reception office of the Institution of Justice for state registration of rights to real estate and transactions with it was created. However, the existing problems have not yet been resolved.

“After signing the separation protocol with the city, the next stage begins - registration of the rights of investors to real estate in the Moscow State Committee for Registration of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions with It, - Viktor Kozlov continues. - The terms of approval in this instance are regulated, but together with Therefore, the requirements for registration of documents often change. Development companies are forced to bring documents in line with the changed requirements several times. Thus, the 30-day period allotted for registration of investors' rights to real estate is stretched for months. The last stage of the process - - registration of property rights of an individual or legal entity in accordance with the law "On state registration of rights to real estate and transactions with it";it takes another month. The total cumulative time spent on obtaining property documents in Moscow ranges from a year to one and a half years, in some cases - up to three years from the date the house was handed over to the state commission."

Khaya Pleshitskaya, head of the legal department of the MIAN Real Estate Agency, emphasizes that measurements made by the BTI take a significant amount of time: documents for the acceptance and transfer of apartments and a package of documents is being prepared to complete the investment project. Only after that the legal address of the house is opened in the Federal Registration Service."

Thus, the documents establishing property rights will have to wait from a year (at best) to three years. Most real estate experts agree with this conclusion.

Developers wash their hands

Who is the culprit behind the numerous delays in the registration of ownership of the already purchased housing? What makes the city authorities delay so much the process of registering investors' rights and not sign the acceptance certificates for a long time?

The answer is actually obvious. “The municipal authorities are waiting for the developer to fulfill all obligations under the investment contract in full,” explains Vyacheslav Timerbulatov, vice president of the Konti group of companies. housing for people on the waiting list, etc. Thus, in fact, it is not the registration of property rights that is delayed, but the signing of the act on the implementation of the investment contract, which is concluded between the investor and the city. The process of agreeing and passing through all instances objectively takes time."

However, as it turns out, it is not only about objective reasons. Here is what the lawyer of the corporation "Inkom-real estate" Angelica Zharkova told: "The developer, concluding an investment contract and subsequently obtaining permits for the construction of a residential property, acquires some obligations to the city in the form of creating infrastructure on the construction site, as well as for using communications - payment of compensation to the city. After the completion of the construction of a new building, when all apartments are sold to equity holders and the developer has made a profit, he is no longer interested in fulfilling obligations to the city. But the city authorities in this case are waiting for the developer to fulfill his obligations in accordance with the investment contract. This can last for years,therefore, the document - the act on the implementation of the investment contract, which is considered key, is not signed by them. Namely, this document is the basis for opening an address for a newly created object and registering ownership."

The relationship between the city and the investor is a separate, very painful and big topic. Of course, the burdens imposed by municipal authorities on builders today are very high. In some districts, the so-called share of the city reaches 40% of the investment cost of the project. In such a situation, real estate developers are trying by hook or by crook to get rid of the hated and, as it seems to them, unreasonably heavy burden. The standoff can last for years, and until the tug-of-war game is over, the buyer will wait.

However, most developers strongly disagree with such conclusions. Vyacheslav Timerbulatov explains: "It is objectively unprofitable for a bona fide developer to delay the process of registering property rights, because in this case the company may incur heavy penalties." "It is unprofitable for developers to delay the registration of property rights to an apartment, since they incur numerous costs," said Sergei Lyadov, press secretary of the investment and construction company City-XXI century. What kind of costs are we talking about? First of all, these are operating and utility costs for the maintenance of the complex after the delivery of the state commission. In fact, according to the terms of the contract, the burden of such payments most often falls on the shoulders of buyers, but the latter, as the same builders claim, often refuse to pay for the property.which they do not yet legally belong. So, what will outweigh - the ability to get any concessions from the city or savings on utility bills? The question is probably rhetorical.

Contracting parties

In addition to the difficulties associated with the implementation of investment obligations, there is another extremely difficult issue at the present time. This is the connection of the house to utilities. "At the last stage of the project implementation, this problem is the most painful," says Sergey Lyadov. "If the issue was not thoroughly worked out in advance, then delays in registration of rights in some cases can reach several years."

The slowness of the BTI employees is another reason for the delay in processing. However, the situation is not limited to the described difficulties. As you know, in addition to the developer company, several investors are often involved in the implementation of a project. The latter attract co-investors, and all of them subsequently attract individuals - equity holders to the construction. Problems arise because the documents concerning the completion of the construction of a house must be signed by all investors who are parties to the investment contract. But this cannot happen until all the calculations have been made between the investors and the developer, companies and creditors.

“As a result, equity holders suffer,” says Anzhelika Zharkova. property, since there are many investors and settlements between them have not been made in full. It must be said that settlements between investors and co-investors are not always resolved on a voluntary basis, sometimes - and more recently - disputes arise between them, which are resolved only Accordingly, there can be no question of any documents on the implementation of the investment contract. And the shareholder is waiting for all these disputes to be resolved. This happened in the Nikulino-2 microdistrict, when the parties to the investment contract could not figure out who owes whom,and one of them filed a lawsuit. But the equity holders did not wait, went to court themselves with claims for the recognition of the ownership of the apartments and in court achieved recognition of their ownership."

Many lawyers are convinced that in situations where the registration of property rights is delayed, the most effective way to protect their rights is the court. Similar precedents exist today.

Pros and cons of hanging

All the time while the above actions are performed, the buyer of the new building is in limbo. His position is the most disadvantageous and disenfranchised, this is the position of a person who has become hostage to the confrontation between officials and builders, builders and power engineers, investors and co-investors. However, a buyer who has actual, but not legal, rights to the acquired property also has some options.

"Having received permission from the developer, the buyer can start making repairs in the apartment before the registration of ownership, since usually companies are willing to meet buyers," says Sergey Lyadov. But in this case, the future owner of the apartment has significant restrictions. For example, it cannot affect the design features of the apartment and the facade of the building, because then we are talking about redevelopment, which, in principle, is prohibited until the registration of ownership.

The buyer also has the right to bequeath an apartment that has not yet been legally formalized, since such an action is provided for by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (according to the law, it is possible to bequeath not only the property that the testator has at the time of drawing up the will, but also that that will appear in his future). Khaya Pleshitskaya explains: "It is possible to inherit, even if there is no will. In this case, the heir receives a certificate of the right to inherit and applies to the organization that carries out the registration, or to the organization with which an agreement for the apartment has been concluded, so that the apartment is already him ".

A will must be distinguished from a donation, which in this case is impossible. In principle, the buyer can sell the apartment before the registration of ownership rights, however, in this case, the scheme of assignment of the rights of claim will be used, which, of course, is justified only in case of force majeure.

Opportunities for the purchaser of a legally unregistered new building, in fact, are limited to repair, inheritance and assignment of claims. All other steps in taking possession of the property are excluded. So, the buyer cannot register in such an apartment, because the basis for registration at the place of residence (registration) is a certificate of ownership. "If the spouses divorce before the registration of ownership, it is impossible to divide the apartment itself, since it does not yet belong to the spouses," says Khaya Pleshitskaya. "Accordingly, the money paid for the purchase of the apartment is divided." The apartment cannot be pledged against a loan, since there is no property as such.

A significant drawback of the "transition period" is also high utility bills due to the fact that city subsidies do not work for this period.

Will the buyer pay for everything?

Under the existing terms of registration of property rights, a rare buyer of real estate in new buildings does not take steps to enter into their rights.

The process of taking possession of property can be accelerated, if not legally, then at least in fact. And here's how. "After the house is handed over to the state commission, by the decision of the prefect of the administrative district, the house must be transferred to the balance of the operating organization. The buyer of an apartment who does not want to wait several years for obtaining ownership rights can conclude an agreement with the organization operating his house and proceed with the repair and partial registration of documents for approval redevelopment, - advises Viktor Kozlov. - But in this situation, it must be borne in mind that from this moment all the costs of maintaining the facility, previously assigned to the general contractor, and from the moment of the state acceptance by the commission - to the investor, will now be charged from the tenants, concluded an agreement with the operating organization ".

Another very difficult question concerns the cost of services for the legal registration of ownership of an apartment. Everyone who has ever had to register ownership of real estate in Moscow knows what circles of hell future owners will have to go through. The collection of numerous documents, long queues, refusals - all these costs are explained by the employees of the Moscow Registration Committee by the insufficient elaboration of the legislative framework and the fact that at present the structure simply cannot cope with the constantly increasing flow of clients of this organization. What are the costs of the buyer in such a situation? The opinions of experts on this matter are very ambiguous.

Khaya Pleshitskaya believes that the expenses for the registration of the transaction are not obligatory: “The money for registration when purchasing an apartment is not always taken. This happens, as a rule, when the first steps for registration are made already at the acquisition stage. For example, there is no house yet (zero cycle), but the documents (contracts, additional agreements) have to be done. It is for these types of work that money is charged."

Vyacheslav Timerbulatov describes the situation a little differently: "The cost of the service for registration of an apartment in ownership is usually determined as a percentage of the cost of an apartment for the convenience of clients and the agency. In addition, it is determined taking into account the location of the house, the stage of preparation of documents for registration and a number of other factors. For example, in our company the cost of registration is included in the purchase price of a home. Other developers for this service take an amount not exceeding $ 1000, only for legal support. In a realtor, the cost of registration at the investment stage is from one to 1.5% of the cost of an apartment in Moscow, in the region - about 2-2.5% Some companies that are intermediaries and have bought apartments under an agency agreement from an investor, take up to 3% of the contract amount. To this amount, you must also add the costs of state fees and payment of various certificates, which cost the client an average of $ 500 ".

Currently, you can find a lot of ads in which representatives of various firms offer to register ownership of new buildings. As a rule, the cost of such a service is approximately the same $ 1000. Such announcements are more sad than pleasing. After all, it turns out that bureaucratic delays can be eliminated, and what seemed to be a difficult and drawn-out affair, it turns out, can be accomplished in a month or two. If there is a material interest.